FDA staff return to crowded offices, broken equipment and missing chairs
[March 18, 2025]
By MATTHEW PERRONE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of employees returned to the Food and Drug
Administration's headquarters Monday to find overflowing parking lots,
long security lines and makeshift office spaces without chairs and other
basic supplies.
The FDA is the latest agency scrambling to meet the Trump
administration’s return-to-office mandate, part of a flurry of actions —
including firings and buyouts — intended to radically shrink the federal
workforce. Monday was the first day that all rank-and-file FDA staffers
were required to report to offices, including the agency’s 130-acre
campus just outside Washington.
The Associated Press spoke with more than a half-dozen FDA staffers who
described long lines to park and clear security, followed by hours of
hunting for space and supplies in offices that were not designed to
accommodate the agency’s full workforce. The staffers spoke on condition
of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.
One staffer described “chaos and lost work hours" for commuting,
security lines and shuffled office space.
About half the FDA’s 20,000 scientists, attorneys, inspectors and
support staff report to the agency’s main campus in White Oak, Maryland,
which until the late 1990s was a naval weapons testing facility.
While many agencies switched to telework during the COVID-19 pandemic,
the FDA began embracing the practice a decade earlier. Most employees
had the option to work from home at least two days a week — flexibility
that was seen as a competitive perk for recruiting highly trained
experts who can often earn more working in industry.
By 7:30 a.m., many on-campus parking lots were full, with cars parked
along side streets, according to employees. Some workers reported
waiting up to one hour to clear security checkpoints, and photos viewed
by the AP showed lines of employees winding out doorways, along
sidewalks and around corners.
Once inside, employees confronted broken desks, missing chairs and
locked offices for which they didn’t have keys.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration building behind FDA logos at a
bus stop on the agency's campus in Silver Spring, Md, Thursday, Aug.
2, 2018. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
 “All of the staff is definitely
bending over backwards to make an impossible situation work and get
their work done,” said one employee.
Some employees were left to scour the campus for chairs and other
essentials.
“People are looting chairs from conference rooms and other
buildings,” a staffer said. “We have no supplies. People are hunting
around all of the buildings on campus for pads of paper and other
basics.”
When employees did get situated, many shared cramped spaces with
people from different divisions and teams, making it difficult to
hold calls and meetings. Photos shared with the AP show folding
chairs and tables setup in hallways and lobbies.
An FDA spokesman said in an email Monday the agency “is continuing
its return-to-office activities to ensure staff remain able to
conduct their important public health work.”
All the employees told the AP that they brought their own drinking
water Monday. That’s due to a monthslong issue involving Legionella,
the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, which was detected
at several FDA buildings. The General Service Administration, which
oversees federal buildings, has been working on the issue since last
summer.
FDA staff received an email earlier this month that all water is
safe to drink, but it did not detail the latest testing results or
corrective actions taken.
Anthony Lee, who represents the local chapter of the federal union
for FDA employees, said the agency has not granted the group's
request for a meeting on the issue.
Asked about the water, one staffer said: “Honestly, none of us have
tried it. After months of Legionella warnings, it’s not very
inviting."
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